cliff, just 27 days away. people already having trouble finding a job are receiving a letter of warning about something to happen to them if congress can't make a deal. and abc's jonathan karl has that. >> reporter: melinda vega has been put on notice. if congress and the president don't get their act together, her unemployment checks will stop immediately at the end of the year. >> we're dependent on that money to pay our bills. >> reporter: she's been without a job for a year. her $450 a week unemployment check, her lifeline. >> we won't be able to pay some of our bills and, i mean, you know, that's for christmas and things of that nature, probably off the table. >> reporter: she's not alone. without a deal, unemployment compensation will end for more than 2 million people who've been out of work for more than 26 weeks. many of the unemployed started receiving the news this week from pre-recorded phone calls, like this one in washington state. >> emergency unemployment compensation shuts off at the end of de